Aftermath of the Death of Jairo Mora Sandoval

Costa Rica News – It has been almost a week since 26 year old Costa Rican environmentalist was kidnapped, bound, beaten, shot in the head and left on the sand. As we start to look back and see the aftermath of this murder, there are not too many bright spots.

These threats had been going on for a long period of time before the death of Jairo Mora Sandoval. Assaults on volunteers happened on almost a daily basis, and yet the local authorities and the Costa Rican government did nothing.

In order to get more control over the situation the group headed by Mora started a nursery to take the eggs and monitor them until the turtles were born. This nursery was robbed in 2012. The thieves stole eggs from about 20 nests and volunteers were threatened by armed with an AK47.

The culprits of this crime were never found and no consequences came of their actions. This shows the Costa Rican response to these crimes……nothing.

These turtle eggs have become a source of income and trade for drug traffickers in Costa Rica. With the drug trafficking comes power, money, and control. The eggs have become a form of currency in this business and you are not going to see many people coming forward to rat the killers out because they know what the consequences will be…….their own death as well as most likely their entire family.

This is why you do not see anyone running forward for the rewards of $10,000 to $15,000 to give information. Added to this fact is these environmental groups do not have the resources to follow up on any information that comes into their emails. The witch hunt has begun and it will end up with zero results unless the Costa Rica government steps up to the plate.

The killing already has begun to scare away volunteers, many of whom are young Americans, according to Mora’s nonprofit employer. Some believe the slaying could even affect the Costa Rican economy, which depends heavily on eco-tourism.

President Laura Chinchilla tweeted that no one will be free from punishment.

Many doubts fill the mind of the Costa Rican population as to the sincerity of this promise made by their president. They have seen the corruption that surrounds this presidency.

Will this be yet another false promise by the Costa Rica president as she counts the money given by the President of China or will these word be proceeded by actions?

The only actions seen so far have been by environmental groups offering rewards for information……let’s hope this is not another case of “we have gringos for that” in Costa Rica and that the government of Costa Rica actually takes action to defend its environment instead of selling it to the highest bidder.